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The Putney: A Rare EMS VCS3 Mk1 Analogue Modular Synthesizer, 1970/71, image 1
The Putney: A Rare EMS VCS3 Mk1 Analogue Modular Synthesizer, 1970/71, image 2
The Putney: A Rare EMS VCS3 Mk1 Analogue Modular Synthesizer, 1970/71, image 3
The Putney: A Rare EMS VCS3 Mk1 Analogue Modular Synthesizer, 1970/71, image 4
Rock & Pop
Lot 169

The Putney: A Rare EMS VCS3 Mk1 Analogue Modular Synthesizer,
1970/71,

24 May 2023, 12:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £14,080 inc. premium

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The Putney: A Rare EMS VCS3 Mk1 Analogue Modular Synthesizer,

1970/71,
serial no. 3905, marked VCS3a, in hardwood cabinet with two panels providing controls for: three voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs), noise generator, input level, ring modulator, filter/oscillator, envelope shaper, reverberation, output filter, 16x16 patch board matrix with six resistive connecting pins (two incomplete or for testing purposes), joystick providing X/Y modulation control; reverse with power connector, stereo headphones output, scope, right/left signal outputs, two control outputs, keyboard output, two Hi. level inputs, and two Mic. outputs (600Ω), together with plug,
17 1/2in x 17in x 16in (44.5cm x 43cm x 40.5cm) overall

Footnotes

Provenance:
Acquired by the current owner who worked for Peter Zinovieff (1933–2021) at Electronic Music Studios from 1970-1972. Zinovieff was co-founder of EMS and was instrumental in the development of the VCS3 Synthesizer.

Electronic Music Studios Ltd. (EMS) was formed in 1969 by Peter Zinovieff, Tristram Cary, and David Cockerell, partly to fund Zinovieff's experimental music studio. The VCS3 was nicknamed "The Putney" after the location of Zinovieff's London home and was their first commercial product. When contemporary alternatives from early synthesizer companies such as Moog and Buchla would take up entire walls, EMS provided a comparatively compact version of the electronic studio, hence the name 'Voltage Controlled Studio' (VCS).

The VCS3 was modular but made use of a 16x16 patch matrix which minimised the need for patch cables to connect separate modules. The synthesizer soon found its way on to the soundtracks of popular TV programmes like 'Doctor Who' and on numerous popular albums. The VCS3 was prominently featured on tracks by Pink Floyd (such as Dark Side of the Moon's 'On the Run'); The Who (the 'Won't Get Fooled Again' intro includes Lowrey organ processed through a VCS3); Roxy Music (where it was played by original member Brian Eno who went on to use it on his solo albums); Led Zeppelin (played by John Paul Jones on 'Four Sticks'); Hawkwind, King Crimson, Jean Michel Jarre, and Tangerine Dream, among others.

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